Growth of American Families, 1955 and 1960

Growth of American Families, 1955

Basic Information

Conducted by: The Scripps Foundation for Research in
Population Problems, Miami University, and The Survey Research
Center, University of Michigan

Funded by: The Rockefeller Foundation

Data Prepared by: Center for Demography and Ecology,
University of Wisconsin, under the direction of Larry Bumpass

Universe: Currently married white women aged 18-39, living
in private households, who were
either living with their husbands or temporarily separated because of
husband's military service.

Date of Survey: 1955.

Coverage: National (100% of 48 states).

Sample Size: 2713 completed interviews.

Record Weights: None.

Supplementary Surveys: 200 single women aged 18-24 were
also interviewed, using a different questionnaire. These interviews
are not available.

Access: Public

Additional Information

Sample

Using an area probability sampling method, 2978 eligible married
women were selected from 8305 occupied dwelling units. 153 women
refused to be interviewed, and 132 were unavailable due to illness,
disability or because they were not at home after repeated followup
visits. This resulted in 2713 completed interviews, representing a
response rate of 91.1%. The universe of women represented by this
sample is white, married women who are living in private households,
with their husbands or temporarily separated because of military
service. According to the Current Population Survey of April, 1955,
there were 17,078,000 such women in the U.S. in March 1955.
Comparison of the sample with independent estimates from the CPS and
the 1950 Census shows a close match on such characteristics as age,
number of children, education, religion, residence, husband's
occupation, and wife's labor force participation.

Field Work

The interviews were conducted by around 150 trained women
interviewers on the national staff of the Survey Research Center of
the University of Michigan. The average length of the interview was
one hour and fifteen minutes. This was the first national scientific
sample survey to include questions about contraception, sterility and
miscarriages and there was concern that respondents would refuse to answer
these sensitive questions.
However, only ten women refused to answer the
questions on contraception; the refusal rate (0.5%) was lower than
that for questions on income.

Data Collected

Women were asked questions about fertility and contraception, including
contraceptive use and pregnancy histories, opinions on childbearing and
childrearing, expectation of further children, etc. Background information
such as marital history, education, income, religion, social
characteristics, and place of residence was also collected. For the first
eight pregnancies, dates, outcomes, and patterns of contraceptive use are
coded. No information about specific contraceptive methods used in these
pregnancy intervals was collected, although whether a woman ever used
specific methods is recorded. For the first eight live births, the dates,
pregnancy order and number of living children at the time of the birth are
recorded. According to other information in the data, there were 24
pregnancies of order greater than eight for these women, and 14 live births
of order greater than eight. Information about these is not included in the
data.

Other References

Detailed results of the survey may be found in Family Planning,
Sterility, and Population Growth, by Ronald G. Freedman, Pascal
K. Whelpton and Arthur A. Campbell. (New York, McGraw-Hill Book
Company, Inc., 1959.), from which this abstract was prepared.

Structure of the data

The data are in a rectangular file, with one record for each
respondent. Limited information on the first through eighth pregnancies and
first through eighth live births is recorded in multiple variables at
various places in the record.

Growth of American Families, 1960

Basic Information

Conducted by: The Survey Research
Center, University of Michigan and The Scripps Foundation for Research in
Population Problems, Miami University

Funded by: The Rockefeller Foundation

Data Prepared by: Center for Demography and Ecology,
University of Wisconsin, under the direction of Larry Bumpass

Universe:

Currently married white women aged 18-44, living
in private households, who were
either living with their husbands or temporarily separated because of
husband's military service.

Previously married white women aged 23-44, who were married and
living with husband in 1955 (except for temporary separation due to
military service)

Currently married nonwhite women aged 18-39, living with husband,
except for military service

Date of Survey: May-July 1960.

Coverage: Coterminous United States (100% of 48 states).

Sample Size: 3322 completed interviews.

Record Weights: None.

Access: Public

Additional Information

Sample

Using an area probability sampling method, 3782 eligible
women were selected from 8426 occupied dwelling units. 6% of the
eligible women
refused to be interviewed, and 6% were unavailable
either because they were not at home after repeated followup
visits or for other reasons.
This resulted in 3322 completed interviews, representing a
response rate of 87.8%.

Comparison of the sample with independent estimates from
the 1960 Census shows a close match on such characteristics as age,
education, religion, residence, husband's
occupation, and wife's labor force participation.
The only statistically significant
difference for white women is in the category of
women with no children; 12% of the white women in this sample had never
borne a child, whereas 15% of ever-married white women aged 18-44
in the 1960 Census were in this category. For nonwhite women, there is a
statistically significant difference in region: the sample
overrepresents women living in the North Central region; there is a
compensating (but not significant) underrepresentation of nonwhite
women living in the West.
The sample also appears to
overrepresent women in the higher education categories, although the
difference is not statistically significant.

Field Work

The interviews were conducted by
interviewers on the staff of the Survey Research Center of
the University of Michigan. Respondent's cooperation on 94% of the
interviews was rated as "good" or "very good" by the interviewers.

Data Collected

Women were asked questions about
fertility and contraception, including contraceptive use and
pregnancy histories, opinions on childbearing and childrearing,
expectation of further children, etc. Background information
such as marital history, education, income, religion, social
characteristics, and place of residence was also collected.
Contraceptive information, including methods used (but no
dates of use), is recorded for the first 12 pregnancy intervals and the open
interval. Outcomes and dates are recorded for all pregnancies.

Other References

Detailed Results of the Survey may be found in Fertility and
Family Planning in the United States, by Pascal K. Whelpton,
Arthur A. Campbell, and John E. Patterson. (Princeton, NJ, Princeton
University Press, 1966), from which this abstract was prepared.

Structure of the Data

The data are in a rectangular file with one record for each
respondent. Variables for pregnancy intervals are coded in groups of repeated
fields.